BookIt.com Verified Traveler David from Newburyport, Ma

"We booked the Divi Dutch Village because it was affordable and NOT all inclusive which allowed us to dine at anywhere on the island and not be forced to eat mainly at Divi restaurants. This turned out to be a great move because we found food undesirable at the Divi Tamarijn next door. The full course meal at the Red Parrott was especially disappointing with cafeteria quality food. The beef tenderloin was served with brown gravy, are you kidding me? Caesar salad with given with obviously bottled dressing served in a dish.

We'd read some negative reviews of Divi Dutch unfortunately not until after booking vacation reporting hotel dated and lack of maintenance. We found this to be true. We were expecting to be disappointed and resigned ourselves to make the best of our stay. However, we found our room very clean and were very pleased with the accommodations. Room was small studio with comfortable king bed, couch, and small kitchen with medium refrigerator, gas stove, convection microwave oven and small kitchen table. We were thrilled with the location being on the third floor with balcony facing the beach. We had view of the water over the 2 floor Tamarijn buildings in front of us on the beach. We were only a short walk, about 70 yards, to the beach, right next to pool and small bar which served breakfast and lunch. The only drawback to our room was that it was in building at end of Divi Village furthest away from activities at the Tamirijn. Any other rooms at Divi Village either do not have water view from third floor because the building does not face the beach. We saw some other Divi Dutch buildings that did face the beach but were a bit further away from the beach so not sure you would have a water view even from the third floor. Another advantage to our room at Divi Village with the small kitchen and refrigerator was there was small supermarket within walking distance across the street we could buy alcohol and food so we didn't always have to eat out or buy drinks from the bar.

Do not confuse the negative comments about hotel being dated and lack of maintenance to mean the hotel being run down. It definitely is not. The hotel, rooms, and grounds are in good shape but not great shape like that of a 5 star hotel. If you are someone who may be bothered by something that may need maintenance or occasional area that looks like it could use coat of paint, then you should not stay here. For example, one of the wooden tables to a palatta by our pool was drooping because it simply needed a hammer and nail to reinforce. This was eventually taken care of a few days during our stay.

Other items to mention: there is no lobby for the Divi Village. You must check in/out at the Divi Golf resort. We did not find this to be a problem since there is always a cart shuttle to there or any other Divi resort. However, if you have any need to interact with the lobby you must call by phone or take shuttle there. Also, no elevators at Divi Village, so you must climb stairs if on upper floors. Wasn't a problem for us though. There are no activities specifically at the Divi Village. However, you can use activities and any amenities like pools at any of the other Divi resorts a short shuttle or even a walk away. If you need towels for the beach or pool, ask anyone where to get the "green towels....

In summary, Divi Dutch gives you best bang for your buck and you should enjoy your stay. We would stay here again ourselves.

Some restaurants to recommend if you've never been to Aruba:
Windows on Aruba at Divi Golf resort. Great food and view of golf course.
Chalet Suisse. Great German food.
Gianni's Ristorante Italiano. Italian food was the best.
Aqua Grill. Great seafood, but a bit expensive.

Other tips: Great shopping downtown Oranjestad but recommend going in the morning or later in the day when cooler. High rise area great for restaurants, shopping, casinos, and bars.
"

Report as Inappropriate